Between the Bars
by RitaSkeeter222
Summary: Sixth year. What if Hermione had followed Draco into the bathroom instead of Harry? Hermione's POV. Tastefully M. Titled after Elliott Smith song. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione sat with Ron and Seamus, who were discussing the upcoming quidditch game, wondering where Harry was, when Katie Bell walked into the Great Hall. Girls started to run up, hugging her and Hermione got up to greet her.

"Hermione!"

"Hi, Katie. I'm so glad your okay."

"Thanks. Yeah, I feel fine." There was a small silence, the two girls had never been close.

"I was actually wondering-"

"Everyone's been asking, I didn't see who cursed me. Sorry."

"Oh," Hermione caught sight of Draco Malfoy across the hall, who, if possible, looked even whiter than usual. He was staring at them like a deer in headlights. Hermione stared back, curiously, and he quickly turned away and walked out of the Great Hall. Harry had been right, she realized, Draco was the one who cursed the necklace. Not really knowing what she planned to do, she hurried to follow him.

He rushed down the corridor and into the boy's lavatory. Great. She hesistated outside the door for a moment before pushing it open. The room was dark and cold. He was leaning over the sink and looked up at her through the mirror. "I know what you did, Malfoy." Her voice echoed erily in the large bathroom. He whipped around and she was shocked to see he'd been crying. He drew his wand, his hand shaking, and she stood rooted to the spot with fear, Malfoy suddenly seemed much scarier. They stared at each other for a long time. Hermione's brain was working frantically; if Malfoy was the one who cursed the necklace, if he was a deatheater, what else was he capable of?

"Leave me alone, Mudblood. You don't know what your talking about." Malfoy spat.

"You're a Death Eater," she said, it wasn't a question. "You cursed Katie. But it wasn't meant for Katie… it was for Dumbledore." She realized aloud. Malfoy said nothing, but was breathing heavily.

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I-"he started, "I don't have a choice," he said hardly.

"Of course you do, Dumbledore could-"

"They'll kill my parents…" Malfoy's voice cracked and he sunk against the wall, "They're going to kill my parents." He sobbed into his hands, angry that she was seeing him like this.

Hermione hesitated again before walking over to him. She knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. She didn't know what to say, he was right. She patted him awkwardly and to her surprise, he leaned into her so his head rested against her chest. She was taken back. She had never touched him before, she always imagined him cold, but he was pleasantly warm. It was very strange, but it felt natural, to comfort someone. "I'll help you," she murmured, her cheek against his forehead. He moved to look at her. He looked at her, completely puzzled. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and stood up, remembering herself. "Let's-it's probably best if we forget this." She turned to walk away, but he caught her hand and she whipped around before being pushed rather painfully into the wall. She gasped before his lips crashed into hers. It took her several seconds to come to her senses and push him away. "What are you-"she caught her breath, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know." He said and before she could stop him, his lips were on hers again. She tried to squirm away but he held her close. He seemed impossibly strong. She wondered briefly if lips could bruise. She was scared, her palms were sweating and she didn't know what to do. Did she want this? Did it matter? Malfoy's tongue forced its way into her mouth and she stopped caring. One hand was holding her head to his and the other was pulling her hips into him. He started to kiss her neck and she ran a hand through his long blond hair, biting her lip to suppress a moan. She felt him against her and she shifted into him. "Hermione," he groaned into her neck. It surprised her, she'd never heard him say her name before.

She felt his tongue run along her collar bone and she whimpered before she could stop herself. He started to unbutton her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. She was left shivering in her bra and skirt. He stepped back to look at her for a second and met her eyes. He looked scared, almost. She flushed and crossed her arms across her stomach. He pulled his own shirt over his head before kissing her again. His skin was hot against her own. He pushed her hair out of her face and bit her lip softly, he was being much gentler, but his kisses soon grew urgent and hungry. "Draco" she murmured, trying to string the words together in her head, "Mmm?"

"Lock the door." He pulled away and looked at her. His cheeks were full of color, his hair tousled and his eyes seemed lighter. "Right." As he fumbled to lock the door, Hermione realized what she was doing. Was she really about to have sex, and with Draco Malfoy? Draco had definitely had his fair share of experience and she'd never so much as kissed anyone, except for Victor Krum, and that had been two years ago. Suddenly, she felt awkward and stupid; she didn't know what to do. After a moment of uncertainty, she grabbed her shirt from the floor and pulled it back on.

"What are you doing?"

"I…" she gathered herself, "I should go, this isn't right."

"What?"

"Dra-Malfoy, this can't happen."

"I thought-"

"Listen, you're Draco Malfoy and I'm Hermione Granger." Draco looked at her blankly, "You hate me! And I'm sure you'd love to announce to everyone that we, you know," she cleared her throat.

"No, I don't." Draco smirked.

Hermione blushed and he walked towards her, kissing her deeply, making her forget everything. Why did this have to feel so wonderful? She pulled back and took a deep breath, "please, let me go and let's forget this ever happened." She muttered with all the courage she could muster, not looking at him. Her voice shook, she felt awful.

He stood where he was. "I didn't intend to tell anyone anything," he said hollowly. She looked up at him, his eyes were dark and angry, but he stepped back. She stood where she was, frozen. "Hermione-"

"I have to go." She stormed passed him and out the door.

Hermione ran all the way up to the girl's dormitory in the Gryffindor tower before bursting into tears. What had she done, what was she doing? She felt like she was going to be sick. She had never felt anything like the way she felt with him. She was scared, she had always been in total control of herself, but somehow her feelings had gotten the best of her.

She woke up the next morning exhausted, she had slept fitfully. By the time she got to potions, her head was pounding and Ron was asking her where she had disappeared to after dinner.

"Oh, I didn't feel well."

"You don't look so good." Ron observed bluntly.

"Thanks," Hermione said edgily.

"Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey." Harry suggested.

"I'm perfectly able to sit through potions class," she snapped at the two of them. They stood in silence. "I'm sorry I'm being such a bitch." She blurted.

"It's alright." Ron said in such a way that made all three of them smile. "So where were you, Harry?"

"Oh, erm, I had tons of homework so I skipped dinner." Hermione looked at him curiously, but he avoided her eyes.

"You skipped dinner? To do homework?"

Harry shrugged, but Hermione had already figured it out. Ginny happened to be mysteriously absent from dinner as well. She gave Harry a knowing look and his neck went red. Ron, however, was preoccupied. He nodded at Malfoy.

"Malfoy keeps looking over here." They turned to see, but Malfoy had busied himself talking to Blaise Zabini. "Odd about Katie." Ron said darkly. Hermione felt a pang of guilt run through her.

Just then, the dungeon opened and Slughorn called them all inside.

The whole class she could feel Malfoy's eyes on her, but she didn't look at him once. When they were dismissed, Hermione rushed out without waiting for Harry or Ron, running straight into Malfoy.

Malfoy steadied her, but withdrew his hands quickly, remembering himself. "Watch where you're going, Granger," he spat.

Well, at least he hadn't called her a mudblood.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm sorry it took so long. This chapter is weird, I'm still not too happy with it, but I didn't want to wait any longer. In the future, I plan to update much more frequently. Please tell me what you think…

The rest of the week went by in a blur; Hermione Granger had never been so preoccupied with anything. But now it was Friday and she could look forward to a long, relaxing weekend of homework, and hanging out with Ron and Harry, and sleep, which sounded wonderful at the moment. She quickly gathered up her books from the table and realized she seemed to be the only one left in the library. Go figure, it was Friday night after all. The darkened library was eerily quiet and Hermione even wished for Madame Pinces presence, whom she despised. She hurried to put the books she had used back. The castle seemed freezing and the wind was blowing violently outside, it whistled through the windows of the corridor and Hermione shivered.

She turned the corner of the darkened corridor and almost ran into Malfoy for the second time in a week.

She let out a small scream, they both had stopped walking and she realized she was staring at him. She cleared her throat, her heart beat loud in her ears and suddenly she felt exhausted. She couldn't handle this. "Excuse me." She tried to move past him, but he caught her.

"Granger…" His voice was soft.

She looked at him, daring him to justify what had happened. He faltered. It had begun to pour outside. He wetted his lips, "I-"

"You're a deatheater," she said coldly and walked away, hiding her eyes as she blinked away her tears. She knew she was being stupid, this whole situation felt ridiculous. She was crying because she was tired, she told herself. She rushed quickly back to the Gryffindor common room where, to her dismay, she found Ron and Harry playing wizard's chess.

"Hey Hermione," Harry said, glancing up from his game.

"Hi." She said, trying to hide her face behind her hair, she should have composed herself outside.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"Nothing, I'm just tired. I'm going to go to bed…see you."

"Hermione, wait a second," Ron followed her up the staircase.

"What happened?"

"I'm fine," she gave a watery smile, "I stubbed my toe a second ago." She laughed a little. Ron looked at her, concerned. It was painfully obvious she lying. "Okay, well…you're sure you don't want to join Harry and I?"

"No. Thanks," she tried to smile again, "goodnight."

"Goodnight,"

Hermione lay down in her bed, though it was only nine o'clock. She tried to read her transfiguration homework, but she couldn't focus on anything. She closed her eyes and resolved to not be so dramatic, it was only Malfoy, she told herself. Perhaps a novel would better distract her. After much shuffling through her trunk, she found Anna Karina (how appropriate, she thought with a snort), settled back under the covers and soon fell into a sound sleep.

The next morning, she awoke right at dawn. It was a beautiful day, the grounds were deserted and the trees swayed in the wind. She would go for a walk. Tolstoy in hand, she stopped in the Great Hall for some toast and made her way outside.

It was colder than she expected, but not uncomfortable. The cool wind invigorated her and took her back to her childhood, as the change in seasons always did. She smiled and breathed in deeply, squinting at the sun. The wind was no less violent than the night before, causing her robes to twirl around her and her hair to whip at her cheeks. She felt relieved to be alone, that she didn't have to share this with anyone, the day was hers-

"Granger," she heard in her ear and whipped around to face Draco Malfoy.

"What are you doing, coming up to me like that, I could've cursed you!"

"You could've tried," he smirked and leaned against the doorway.

"It's hard to take you seriously when you don't take anything seriously."

"That sounds like a line you've practiced."

Hermione, this being true, flushed and spluttered, "That would require me to actually think about you. Leave me alone, Malfoy." And she started to storm off, her morning officially spoiled.

"Oh, c'mon, Granger, come back. I'm wounded and lost, I need you."

She whipped around, "why is it you have to alienate anyone who's actually nice to you?"

"You're nice to me because you fancy me, it has nothing to do with you being a good person."

"I never said I it did, but it does because I don't fancy you, you arrogant, stupid- why are you even here, why've you been following me?"

"Now you're being delusional Granger,"

"You're impossible."

"insufferable," he said, following her.

"Unbearable," she said, with as much hatred as she could muster.

"Completely horrid," he said, his voice mimicking hers.

She sighed and stopped, giving up. "why are you doing this?"

"Because I get what I want Granger."

"What do you want?" she asked, exasperated.

"To finish what happened the other night." She turned beet red and it took a moment for her to find her voice.

"That was pity, nothing more." She said, her voice steady.

"Yes, you were whimpering with… pity. Admit it Granger, you loved it."

"I didn't. Besides, I thought I was a filthy mudblood." She said coldly.

"No, you're a lovely one."

"A lovely what?" she asked, picking up on his omission.

He rolled his eyes at her challenge, "A lovely _mudblood_."

"Regardless, I'm no whore. Why don't you go and find Pansy?" She began to walk again, but he had grabbed her wrist, which he held painfully tight.

"I don't want Pansy, I want you." He murmured. They were very close and her wrist hurt and she was reminded just how intimidating Malfoy could be. She tried to tug her arm away and was coming to the uncomfortable realization that Malfoy really was much larger than her and the grounds were completely deserted. She had walked them right into a secluded corner of the castle, that, as fate would have it, was surrounded by trees. Her voice would be lost in the wind. But he was Malfoy, and she had seen something few had witnessed, she thought of how gentle he was that night…he would never…

"Well you certainly know how to win a girl's heart…" She said sarcastically, trying to keep the mood light. They stared at each other for a moment and the anger in his eyes faded. She was suddenly being looked at in a way she'd never been looked at before. He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head. She wouldn't let him have this, she told herself, and she didn't want him like this. "Can you let go of my wrist please?"

"Sorry," he whispered and stepped back, looking extremely put out and even a little embarrassed, Hermione almost felt bad. She breathed out a sigh of relief and cleared her throat, "It's fine…well, goodbye." She said, feeling empty and sad. She knew he was using sex as an excuse to be with her, he had to be, but still, it made her feel awful, hallow to be thought of that way. Awful, hallow and just the teensiest bit relieved that he had enjoyed himself, that she wasn't terrible at…that. She walked away, back toward the castle, leaving him standing there. It wasn't until she sat down with Ginny in the Great Hall that she realized her book was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been first edition, very expensive, her father had given it to her only a year ago, as a birthday present. She had charmed the words from Russian into English, not an easy task, and she wasn't about to let Malfoy have it.

She huffed her way to the library, angry at herself for being tricked. There was a quidditch game in an hour and the whole castle was buzzing with excitement, well, almost the whole castle. It was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, the first match of the season. She supposed she would go down and watch the game along with everyone else, though she didn't really want to anymore. She watched the stands fill up from the library windows and wished she had her book. She watched Dumbledore stroll out onto the grounds and smiled down at him. He seemed to always make her smile. The match started and she knew she should go back to her room, but it was so comfortable in her armchair, her eyes started to droop.

He looked around to make sure no one else was around and sat down at the table next to her.

"Granger," he whispered, shaking her lightly. She sighed and snuggled deeper into her armchair, her hair covering her face. He had to fight the urge to tuck it behind her ear. "Hermione…"

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled sleepily at him. He almost smiled back, when she remembered herself and sat up.

"What-where am I?" she asked, holding her head.

"You're in the library."

"Right. What time is it?" She rubbed her eyes and stretched.

"just past six."

"Oh fu-what are you doing here?" She asked suspiciously.

"Contrary to what you might think, you're not the only one at Hogwarts who uses the library. I do love…books."

"I know you stole my book, I want it back." Hermione said, remembering.

"I don't have it." Malfoy said seriously.

"Please, Malfoy, it's important."

"I didn't take your silly muggle book, and don't beg, Granger, it's not becoming."

"Neither is stealing." she muttered edgily.

"Shhh!" Madame Pince hushed them from behind a shelf, her ancient face wrinkled in disapproval; Draco had never seen anyone shhh quite so hard. He turned to Hermione and laughed at her red cheeks, "She's not even a professor."

"She holds just as much power as one," Hermione snapped back.

Malfoy stood up, "C'mon, I need help finding a book,"

"Just summon it." She murmured, sleep still thick in her voice. He wished she would keep talking.

"I can't." He muttered quietly.

"Why not?"

"It's in the restricted section." He made his voice strained, as if he were talking about something terrible.

Hermione looked at him, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Does it have to do wit-"

"Christ, Granger, are you going to help me or not?" He knew she would, she couldn't keep her nose out of anything.

She thought for a second, "I'm not going to be an accomplice in a murder, if –"

"It's not about that," he said quickly, "it's about…" he trailed off.

"What is it about?" She asked doubtfully.

"It's about my father." He said quietly, his voice hard. He didn't care to discuss his family, least of all in front of Hermione Granger. He felt anger swell inside of him. She was a condescending, arrogant, annoying mudblood, and he didn't need her help, not with this nor with anything else. He would only be implicating her into the mess that was his life anyway. He looked into her brown eyes, wide and kind. Despite her best efforts to look nonchalant, he could read her like a book. She liked him, he knew, and he, for some reason he couldn't figure out, wanted her around and missed her when she wasn't, he found himself wondering where she was or what she was doing. He was nervous when she was around, he had never been nervous before.... He didn't know he was capable of feeling such a way about anyone. But he couldn't let her do this, she shouldn't have anything to do with him.

"I'll help you, if you give back my book." She bargained, interrupting his thoughts

He stood up, not looking at her, "forget it, Granger, I don't need your help," he muttered coldly. This was better, this was how it was supposed to be.

She stood up too, "you can borrow the book, if your reading-"

"No, it's nothing to do with that-I-I have to go." He said, a hint of apology in his voice.

She sunk back into her chair, "Don't do anything stupid," she called after him uncertainly.

He kept walking and didn't turn back, feeling like he wanted to jump off the astronomy tower.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter doesn't really have anything to do with Draco and Hermione at all… but it was really fun to write and if you guys love the Gryffindor gang as much as I do, you'll enjoy it (hopefully). Please review if you liked it, or if you didn't…Just do it, it takes two seconds and it makes me so happy it's pathetic. **

"Hi Hermione." Harry shouted over the din. Everyone was celebrating. "We won!"

"Did you see me?" Ron asked loudly, his drink sloshing in his hand.

"He was brilliant," Harry clamped him on the back.

"You were great!" Hermione agreed, not having the heart to tell them she hadn't watched the game.

"Have a drink!" Harry told her, gesturing to a table nearby.

"I've got it," Ron said quickly. She gave Harry a strange look and Harry shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"Where were you, after the game?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I…" Hermione resolved the truth was best, "I didn't watch the game," Harry looked puzzled, "I mean, I meant to- but I fell asleep. Don't tell Ron?"

"Don't tell Ron what?" Ron was back, holding out a large glass filled with amber liquid to her.

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, trying to look playfully mysterious, but Ron looked put out. She took her drink, "thanks." She took a gulp and quickly coughed and spluttered everywhere. Ron and Harry laughed.

"Slow down, Hermione!"

"I thought it was butterbeer." She choked.

"It's firewhiskey."

"Yes, thanks."

Ron shrugged, "Sorry-should've told you."

"Hi Hermione." Ginny said, squeezing through the crowd. "Where were you?"

"Around," Hermione said dismissively and shot her an "I'll-tell-you-later" look.

"Oh. Well, we're going to play truth or dare, do you want to?"

She shrugged, it sounded like fun, and followed Ginny along with Harry and Ron up to the boy's dormitories, where they found a blushing Neville, Seamus and Dean looking uncomfortable, Luna humming quietly and Parvati and Lavender in a fit of giggles. "Why are we up here?" Hermione asked, looking around. She noticed Ron kick some dirty robes under his bed.

"It's quieter," Ginny said simply and they sat down in a circle to play.

Lavender sat next to Ron, "The game's bewitched-you have to tell the truth-"

"-or perform the dare." Parvati finished suggestively.

Hermione did not like the sound of this, but she sat down between Harry and Seamus, nevertheless.

"Alright, Harry you're first," Parvati instructed. Harry reached out to spin an enchanted bottle. The bottle spun quickly and stopped almost instantly on Neville.

"Umm, er, right. Neville, truth or dare," Neville looked positively terrified.

"Truth-no, I meant dare."

Ginny leaned across the circle and whispered something in Harry's ear. "Okay, Neville, I dare you to tell Luna what you told Ginny about her on Tuesday night," he said unsurely, a hint of apology in his voice. Neville flushed even darker and turned to Luna, "I, uhh, you have really lovely hair." Neville said quickly.

"Thank you," Luna said, genuinely pleased and not the slightest bit phased. Seamus clamped Neville on the back and the bottle was passed to Dean, who spun without hesitation. It landed on Hermione. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Hermione said nervously.

"What's you deepest secret?" Dean said automatically.

Hermione thought for a second, but the words seemed to rise to her mouth on their own accord, she cursed the spell. "I'm in love wi-" she clamped her hands to her mouth, "MMMHHOO AAAHOOY."

Everyone stared at her, "Didn't catch that." Seamus said, breaking the silence. Hermione herself was stunned, even she hadn't been consciously aware of that…her hands were shaking and her face was burning and everyone was still staring, Luna included. "Who are you in love with?" Ginny asked eagerly. "We already know his name has four syllables."

"Let's think- whose name has four syllables that Hermione could possibly be in love with…" Seamus said sarcastically.

Hermione colored when she realized who he meant and Parvati shoved him in the chest, "you're such a prat, Seamus." Ron looked pleased with himself and Hermione, feeling frustrated, seized a bottle of firewhiskey from Dean and took a swig.

"Ginny, you're next." Lavender said, looking rather annoyed.

Ginny took the bottle and paused when it landed on Lavender. She thought for a second and then an evil grin crossed her face, "Did you and Ron do it?" she asked and Lavender flushed while Parvati giggled uncontrollably. Ron's head was in his hands. "No."

"All that talk, Ron-'if you need advice-' if you need advice my ass!" Seamus choked between laughs. "That means you're a virgin." Dean accused.

"Yeah, so are you-you only ever went with Ginny."

Dean colored and Ginny shot him a death stare, Ron's grin faded and he looked between the two of them, realization dawning on his face-"What-you two-" Dean had begun to run and Ron chased him down the stairs. Harry looked angry and Ginny tried to catch his eye. "It was terrible, if anyone was wondering," she said, still staring at Harry who refused to look back. "Okay, Luna you're next." Lavender prompted.

The bottle landed on Seamus. "Truth or dare?" Luna asked.

"Truth." Seamus said, looking extremely nervous.

Luna thought for a long time, "oh, c'mon Luna, get on with it!" Lavender said impatiently.

"What's your best memory?" Everyone was surprised at this, Seamus included, but he started to talk.

"I was really little, maybe eight, and me dad had taken me to the park. There were other kids there, and I played with this one bloke-Charlie, he was ten. We played pirates. Then it started to rain, pour, but there wasn't any thunder, and I thought we had to go home, but dad let us stay because Charlie's mum wasn't there and we had to wait for her to come back. There was this huge puddle at the bottom of the slide you splashed in when you went down it and we kept doing it." he seemed to come back to reality and grinned sheepishly, "that's it."

Luna smiled happily, now leaning against Neville's shoulder. Parvati looked as if he had spoken the word of god and Lavender looked bored. "I'm next." She said, happily taking the bottle. It landed on Hermione. Hermione was scared; Lavender had always been rather possessive.

"Dare." Hermione said warily, before Lavender could ask.

"Fine. I dare you…" she conferred with Parvati, but shook her head in disagreement, "to finish that bottle of firewhiskey."

"What! That's awful-I can't, I'll be sick!"

"She will," Seamus said wisely.

"Lavender, you're so stupid-now she has to!" Ginny said angrily. And sure enough, Hermione felt compelled to raise the bottle to her lips and drink. She took a swig, it tasted awful.

"It's barely half full!" Lavender said defensively, "I'm sorry," she added to Hermione.

"Oh no." Hermione moaned, and she wished she hadn't drunk so much earlier.

Harry sighed, "I'll be right back, I'm going to find Ron. Ginny shot her a sympathetic look before following Harry. Hermione stood up, watching Seamus murmur something in Parvati's ear and Luna read Neville's palm. Lavender almost followed, but seemed to think the better of it from the look Hermione was giving her. She took another sip and felt her throat burn. She could do this, she thought as she stumbled out of the boy's dormitory, if she concentrated…

"Hermione." She turned and felt dread spread through her.

"Hi Ron." She muttered.

"Do you want to talk?"

"Oh, I really don't feel very well," she said, taking another swig of firewhiskey.

"Maybe you should stop drinking that then," Ron smiled and pointed at the bottle in her hands.

"Yeah… I mean, no, I can't-Lavender dared me to finish it. Where's Dean?"

"He's over there-" Ron said-gesturing at the crowd, "Harry sort of settled it for us."

Hermione nodded, "His hero complex kicked in."

"I only stopped because I think Harry wants to do it himself, he looked angry."

"Maybe he's frustrated…" Hermione said, putting emphasis on the last word and giggling. Ron shook his head.

"I hope he stays frustrated, then. Ginny's too young."

"She's practically sixteen, Ron. And she's in love."

"Yeah…so what are you doing next weekend?"

Hermione almost snorted, it seemed such a ridiculous question to ask. "I dunno. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to Hogsmeade." Ron said, suddenly looking embarrassed.

"Oh…" Hermione suddenly knew where this conversation was headed. "Maybe I'll go too. Harry and Ginny will probably thank me for it," she joked. "Well, goodnight." She held up her bottle and turned.

He ran in front of her and drew himself up. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me next week?"

"I always go with you, Ron," she said, forcing a laugh. The whiskey was making everything foggy.

"But will you _go_ with me?"

"Oh," Hermione blushed, "I-Ron, you're my best friend. I…I love you, bu-" Without any warning, Ron kissed her and for a second she was so shocked she let him; he was warm and he smelled like the burrow and it felt good to be held. One hand held her head and the other pulled her gently closer to him. It was not until she felt his tongue on her bottom lip that she came back to her senses. She was leading him on, she realized and she pushed him away, "Ron…" she shook her head, but she didn't know what to say. Ron's cheeks were flushed and he looked as adorable as ever. "I can't. I'm going to be sick." she moaned and fled before he could say anything.

**I don't want to make Ron one dimensional, or even change his character at all. He's awesome, and though this story is about Draco and Hermione (don't worry, I remembered), Ron is still a part of Hermione's life. **


	5. Chapter 5

Draco Malfoy was sleeping at his desk, still fully clothed, when a knock at the door woke him up. It was almost one in the morning; Draco couldn't imagine who it would be besides Snape. He sighed and decided not to answer it, but he could hear a muffled voice from the other side, and it definitely didn't sound like Snape.

"-probably asleep. Oh, there you are." She beamed up at him from where she sat, slumped against the wall.

"Granger, what are you doing here-how did you get in here?" He whispered, closing the door behind him and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

But Hermione was preoccupied, "what have you done with your hair," she hiccupped and then giggled, "it looks funny."

"Wha-Are you drunk?"

"I may have had _a_ drin-"

"Shh, be quiet, for Christ's sake." he hissed.

"Sorry," she said loudly, clamped her hands to her mouth and then erupted into giggles. "Were you asleep?" she whispered.

"I was reading-," he shook his head, "we have to get you out of here, why are you here?"

"I don't know," this seemed to puzzle her and she furrowed her brow in concentration. Her eyes were dark with makeup, her skirt had scrunched up near her waist and her hair fell into her face in a way that made his heart pump a little faster. "Anna Karina, I want it back." She demanded, snapping him back to his senses.

"Well keep your voice down. C'mon, up you go." He pulled her up and she wavered, lost her balance, and fell into him.

"Do you always sleep in your clothes" she asked in a whisper, running her hands down his torso. He was temporarily distracted by this, but shook himself out of it. He had to stay focused if they weren't going to get caught. "You smell lovely," she murmured and Draco smirked.

"Alright, the Gryffindor dormitories are on the other side of the castle, so you're going to have to pull yourself together, Granger." He realized he was still supporting her and tried to push her upright.

"Hermione?" he shook her gently.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked, annoyed. Her eyes were closed.

"You have to stand up."

"Mmm"

"Granger?" he shook her a little less gently.

"Okay! I'm going! Merlin," she mumbled and pushed herself off him, swayed, and then fell forward. He bent down to help her up, tried to grab her, when her elbow met his eye.

"Fuck!" He stumbled backward, holding his head.

"Sorry," she gasped, clutching her stomach in laughter and biting down on her lip to stay silent . Draco was getting frustrated. He swooped her up, walked out of the Slytherin common room and through the dungeons. She was giggling again and then she moaned, closing her eyes. "Put me down. Put me down, I can walk." She squealed, flailing around.

"Alright, just shut up."

"Thank you." She sighed in relief as her feet touched the ground, but his arms were still around her. She gazed up at him innocently. "I love you," she whispered, as if she didn't believe it herself.

Draco laughed, uncomfortable. "You're drunk,"

"Do you love me?"

"Yeah," he said, and cleared his throat, "sure."

"You really do?" she asked seriously.

He thought about it for a second- what the hell; she wouldn't remember tomorrow. "I love you," he said, and his heart gave a jolt. He met her eyes, his heart in his throat. Their faces were so close their noses touched. He leaned in to kiss her.

"Mr. Malfoy, what are you-" McGonagall stopped dead when she realized what, or rather who, Draco was holding. He quickly unraveled himself. Hermione turned to face McGonagall, doubled over and proceeded to throw up a surprising amount right in front of her. "Hello Professor," she hiccupped.

"Come with me, you two." McGonagall spluttered and Draco bit back a smirk; even she was surprised to find them together. She waved her wand behind her shoulder and the mess vanished.

They followed her to her office where they were seated. She looked vivid, "stay here," she ordered in a voice that made Draco wince; he felt Hermione shrink next to him. "Don't tell Snape," Malfoy blurted, and she turned, surprised. "Please, he'll tell my father," he said quietly, not daring to look at her. McGonagall hesitated, sensing how scared he was. An understanding seemed to pass between them. She knew that Snape was a deatheater. "You'll only be putting her in danger," Malfoy said, his throat dry; if his father found out, he would kill Draco and Hermione. He looked at Hermione, who had sobered up a little and seemed to be blinking back tears. McGonagall, resigned, sat down in front of them.

"What do you have to say for yourselves," she demanded, her lips thin.

"It's my fault, I told her to meet me…" Draco made up lamely.

"You couldn't have met during the day, or before curfew?"

"Well, I…"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"And Ms. Granger, why are you in such a state?"

"I…I'm sick." There was a short silence. McGonagall looked from her to Malfoy, who nodded and bit his tongue to stop himself from smirking.

"I see…well, 50 points will be taken from your respective houses and you will both serve detention on the fourth,"

"That's Hogsmeade!" He had to go to Hogsmeade, he had orders from you-know-who.

"Precisely, Mr. Malfoy. I expected much more out of you two; prefects are supposed to set an example. The two of you are dismissed."

Draco glanced at Hermione, who looked as though she couldn't make it out of the office, let alone back to her bed. He looked at McGonagall. She sighed. "Mr. Malfoy, would you please escort Ms. Granger back to her dormitory." Draco nodded quickly, "and make haste, Professor Snape patrols at two."

"Thank you, Professor,"

"Goodnight," she said sternly.


End file.
